Grinding process.



H. T. THOMAS.

GRINDING PROCESS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY]. 1916.

Patented Jan. 8, 1918.

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Specification of letters Patent.

Application filed July 7, 1918. Serial Ho; 107,8.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmown that 1, Homer T. Tnoms,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Lansing, county of Ingham, State of Michian, have invented a certain new and useful m rovement in Grinding Processes, and dec are the followin to be a full, clear, and exact description 0 the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference J change speed gearing for automobiles.

I secure this object in the rocess and apparatus hereinafter describe and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of an apparatus by which my invention is, in part, performed; and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a section of a shaft such as is ground by this-improved process,

a is a driven shaft and b is sa gear wheel rigidly secured thereon. a is a camrigidly secured upon the shaft (1. d is a second gear wheel, its teeth engaging with the teeth of the gear wheel I) so as to be driven thereby. k is the shaft to be ground. This 1s secured coaxially with the wheel d so as to turn with said wheel.

e and f are arms of a bell-crank lever adapted to oscillate about the arbor h. m

is a grinding wheel secured to a spindle a bearing in the outer end of the am 7. The

' grinding wheel is rotated rapidly in the usual manner. 3" is a friction wheel bearing at g in the outer end of the lever arm e. The wheel j bears against the surface of the cam o and the bell-crank lever e f is oscillated by said cam acting thereon through the friction wheel.

The shaft 7: is shaped roughly to form, having the splines k is is integral therewith and extending radially therefrom. The shaft is cut deeperthan elsewhere adjacent to the splines k, as indicated, thus forming ooves k having their inner walls inside of the other surfaces of the shaft. The shaft is then heat-treated which leaves it 'passage of a spline and to grm in front of a grinding approximately in shape but requiring it to be ground to rectify it. and accurately finish its surface. j v

The earn 0 is so formed thatit shall hold the grlndmg wheel m against thejsalient cyhndrical surface between adjacent grooves in and between the splines b When the shaft has turned such cylindrical surface past the grinding wheel m the bell-crank ever e f is acted on by the earn 0 to draw said wheel farther from the center of the shaft is and into position to emit the the outer cylindrical surface thereof. As each spline passes under the grinding wheel m in the rotation of the shaft is, its outer surfaces is ground. a I

Thus the main bearing surface It between adjacent grooves Ir: and between the splines 70 are accurately finished to the required size, and the radial distance between these surfaces and the outer cylindrical surface of the spline k is definitely and accurately fixed and themuter surfaces of the splines are ground.

WhatIclaim is: e j e 1. The process of grinding splined-shafts ,as one of the splines pass thereunder and again moving said grindin wheel toward the shaft to engage the next iiearing surface.

2. The process of grinding splined-shafts consistin in" forming said shafts with grooves elow the rest of the surface of Patented Jan. 8, rats.

said shaft, adjacent to the splines leaving a salient cylindrical bearing surface between said grooves and splines, rotating said shaft wheel and varying the position of said grinding wheel relative to said shaft by means of a cam so that it shall pass over said cylindrical surface to grind thesame and to permit the passage of the splines.

3. The process of grindin consisting in forming sai shafts with grooves below the rest of the surface of said shaft adjacent to the splines leaving a salient cylindrical bearing surface between splined-shafts said grooves, rotating said shaft in front of a grinding wheel and varying the o'sition of said grinding wheel relative to sand shaft by-means of a cam so that it shall pass over said cylindrical surface to grind the same and to permit the passage of the splines, and so that it shall pass over and finish the outer surfaces of said splines.

4. The process of grinding a splined shaft consisting in continuously rotating said shaft, in front of a grinding wheel, varying the position of said grinding wheel to act on the surface intermediate said plines and to permit the passage of said splines.

5. The process of grinding a splined shaft consisting in continuously rotating said shaft, in front of a grinding wheel, varying the position of said grinding wheel to act on the surface intermediate said splines and to permit the passage of said splines, and to act, upon the outer surface of said splines to finish the same.

6. A process of grinding a splined shaft consisting in continuously rotating said shaft about its longitudinal axis in front of a grinding wheel and automatically varying the position of said grinding wheel to act on the surface intermediate said splines and to permit the passage of said-splines, said inding wheel rotating about an axis paral e1 to the axis of said shaft.

7. The. process of grinding a s lined shaft consisting in rotating said sha t about its axis providing a grinding wheel adapted to be moved toward and away from sa'id'shaft and acting upon said grinding wheel by a cam to vary its position to grind the surfaces of said shaft intermediate said splines, and to'permit the passage of said splines, and to grind the outer surfaces of said splines.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

HORACE T. THOMAS. 

